i I Features Erotica alive and well in Asheville ■ see page 3 . Jackson nets 1,000th career point ■ see page 4 Campus pi Drinking and driving at UNCA ■ see page 6 stu- Volume 39 Issue 5 NEWS BRIEFS by Adam McMullin Staff Reporter Wif>k mt m ii CE 1. WWW. unca. edu/banner White-only scholarship sparks debate BY Lauren Abe Staff Reporter CAMPUS CRIME Unknown suspect(s) stole a UNCA computer from room 016 in Karpen Hall Feb 23. The per petrator cut the computer’s secu rity cable and walked off with a monitor and CPU. An investiga tion is underway, according to Jerry Adams, investigator for the Cam pus Police. Classrooms with computers are suppose to be locked at night, ac- cotding to Adams. The crime prob ably occurred over the weekend. The door was found unlocked on the morning of Feb. 23. Campus Police received a report of a stolen bicycle Feb 25. The bike’s lock appeared to be picked, according to Adams. It was chained up at the bike rack at Ramsey Li brary and Robinson Hall. Campus Police issued a student conduct citation for underage pos session of alcohol in Mills Hall Feb 27. The student, also charged with providing alcohol to people under age, is being referred to student conduct. UNCA A group of UNCA students re cently visited New York City and Washington, D.C. with UNCAs North Carolina Teaching Fellows Program. The group took the trip to learn about education in a multi-cultural setting, and to see innovative ap proaches to teaching. The Teaching Fellows visited Seward Park High in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, where stu dents have full access to a complete curriculum taught bilingually for Chinese, Spanish and Bengali stu dents. They also visited Bard High School Early College, a collabora tion of the New York City Depart ment of Education and Bard Col lege. CHAPEL HILL Conservative students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill say they’re successfully fighting the university’s liberal tra dition. Student activists say they’re exposing professors, students and a campus atmosphere that they say is intolerant of conservative thought. They have also spent thousands to import conservative speakers, i “ such as author Ann Coulter and '-•'A actor Ben Stein. Author and former marine Oliver North is scheduled to visit the university in the fall. UNITED STATES Massachusetts Senator John Kerry clinched the Democratic presidential nomination after win ning nine out of 10 primaries March 2. Kerry won primaries in Califor nia, Connecticut, Georgia, Mary land, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Ohio and Rhode Is land. Howard Dean won his home state of Vermont even though he is no longer in the race. North Carolina Senator John Edwards failed to win any of the primaries on Super Tuesday and subsequently quit the race. A Republican student organization at Roger 'Williams University (RWU) in Rhode Island created a scholarship for only white students in an effort to protest affir mative action early February. “It’s a ridiculous idea. It doesn’t address the issue of class, race or ethnic inequali ties,” said Jim Pitts, professor of sociology. “It’s about reinforcing, but in a way that’s a caricature of the old days.” Jason Mattera, the president of the Col lege Republicans at RWU, created a $250 scholarship specifically designated for white students. Scholarships should be based on character and aca demic achievement rather than skin color, Mattera told CNN. With the cre ation of this schol arship, Mattera challengesthe pre conceived issue or that white people are au tomatically privileged or rich, according to CNN. “On a national basis, we need to pay attention to investing in the education of people long before college, people who drop -Iti TOMMY GREENWOOD/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Sean McDonald out too soon or who are encouraged to drop out and develop more talent,” .said Pitts. “We need to give scholarships to a variety of income levels that have the talent to do well in college, whether they are white, black or Puerto Rican.” Mattera receives a $5,000 scholarship for minority students, distributed by the His panic College Fund. He told the Providence Journal that ethnicity does not matter and that scholarships should be given for aca demic achievements. The Republican group also opposes race-ba.sed scholarships and af firmative action, according to CNN. But some argue that scholarships based See SCHOLARSHIP on page 12 W.N.C. Community Health Services Dr. Polly E. Ross, is the medical director ofWNC Health Services, located in Asheville on Grenada Street. The'WNC Health Services offers confidential HIV antibody testing. The health center is opened Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Volunteers participating in the HIV study are at minimal risk of obtaining the disease, according to Ross. JAMES RICHARDS/staff reporter Scientists propose possible HIV vaccine BY James Richards Staff Reporter German scientists launched the country’s first test of an HIV vaccine on humans Feb. 16. Fifty healthy volunteers will undergo vaccine injections during the yearlong clinical trial, in Germany and Bel gium, according to Deutsche Welle, a German news organi zation. The vaccine, known as tgAAC09, targets HIV subtype C, prevalent in Sub-Saharan African countries as well as In dia and China, according to the Associated Press. Backed by Targeted Genet ics Corporation and the non profit Institutional AIDS Vac cine Initiative (lAVI), the trial will test the vaccine’s safety and effectiveness, according to I AVI’s Web site. “I think ideally the research sounds great, said Ian Nelligan, senior biochemistry major. “However, I have some doubts. I worry that they will not do enough testing and re search before administering (the vaccine) widely.” AIDS continues to be a growing pandemic in develop ing na- t i o n s . Males born in some S u b - S a - haran Afri can coun tries have a 75 percent chance of being in fected with HIV in their life time, ac cording to James Petranka, biology profes sor. It is very difficult to develop a vaccine for AIDS, according to Petranka. “The problem with devel oping vaccines is a story in evo lution because we’ve got a vi rus that can mutate rapidly,” said Petranka. “Molecular stud ies trace the original LIIV virus back to 1930. Since it’s entered humans the virus has evolved into many different strains in the order of 15 to 20 minimum. “This is just a race between the evolution of this thing and how quickly we can use our technology to track it and deal with it.” C u r - rently, 30 other vac cines, be sides tgAAc09, are being devel oped or tested worldwide, ac cording to Jennifer Weemer, public relations officer for lAVI. Vaccines consist of weakened (non-lethal) forms of viruses. Cells of the immune system recognize these as foreign invaders when the “I think ideally the research sounds great. However, I have some doubts. I worry that they will not do enough testing and research before administering the vaccine widely^’ Ian Nelligan senior biology major The latest in Iraq: ■ March, 1: Iraqi leaders agree on the terms of an interim constitution, which grants freedoms to the Iraqi people long denied by the controlling Ba’ath party. ■ March 2: Simultaneous suicide bombings markedthe deadliest attack in Iraq since Saddam’s demise. The attacks killed at least 143 people. ■ March 3: American officials claim evidence link Tuesday’s attacks to a Sunni militant, not Iraqi. U.S. misses Iraq deadline Amanda Edwards Staff Reporter The U.S. appointed Iraqi Governing Council did not meet the Feb. 28 deadline to approve an interim constitution due to major differences about the role of Islam in the law, rights of women, and the independence of the Kurdish minority. “We have all agreed to a democratic Iraq,” said a Governing Council member. Mahmud Othman, according to The Associated Press. “We have agreed that the people should choose everything. They ve never said they wanted an Islamic law, Islamic state. If it is delayed a bit nothing much will affect it because this is a deadline we put ourselves.” The United States set the Feb. 28 deadline and U.S. administrator in Iraq must approve the document. See IRAQ on page 12 March 4, 2004 COURTESY OF JOHN STEVENS Argentinean researchers, Roberto and Graciela Mercado assisted in MEDC research with students and faculty at UNCA. The MEDC provides information to the international scientific community field of Mossbauer spectroscopy. Currently, there are over 81,000 data records in the MEDC database. vaccine is injected, and devel- ope a cellular memory for the viral particle. If a real infection occurs later, the immune system can use its memory to quickly at tack the virus, according to Petranka. “We deal with this every year with the flu vaccine, mak ing new vaccines every year to keep pace with the evolving strain,” said Petranka. German researchers say the present vaccine, which has al ready been successfully tested on monkeys, has several advan tages over other vaccines in the development phase, according to Deutsche Welle. A single-shot of vaccine tgAAC09 would not require multiple injections over time, as is the case with other vac cines. This would be particu larly useful for developing countries, where most new HIV infections occur, accord ing to lAVI’s Web site. See vaccine on page 12 International scientists visit UNCA BY Terri Fisher Staff Reporter The Mossbauer Effect Data Center (MEDC), John Stevens and UNCA re ceived a visit in February from two Argentinean physicists. Roberto and Graciela Mercator visited UNCA to have an intellectual exchange with students and anyone involved with the UNCA MEDC research center. “We have made a major addition to our home with the idea that we can ac commodate international visitors,” said Stevens, a chemistry professor. “Wc are hoping to have someone come in next fall from Budapest Hungary.” Bringing international visitors to UNCA helps in extending ideas and ex panding learning, as well as gives students a new voice on a small campus, accord ing to Stevens. “We decided about a year ago that we would be more proactive in terms of hav ing scientists come and stay here for an extended period of time,” said Stevens. “We want to make a more deliberate ef fort of inviting international colleagues. “(Roberto Mercator) is in the area of Mossbauer spectroscopy, and he’s the number one scientist in Argentina that does this type of research.” While visiting, the two educators sup ported the learning of those students who work with the MEDC. “Both of them knew exactly what was going on and they worked very well with us in helping us understand the pro cesses,” said Michael Martin, a freshmen NCSU engineering major. Others agree that working with the Argentinean researchers was beneficial. “Working with Roberto and Graciella was a fantastic experience,” said David Mabe, a biology chemistry student. “They were both in the laboratory work ing with me almost on a daily basis, ask ing questions and offering new insights and suggestions I certainly wouldn’t have thought of” The Mercators worked on about 20 different projects while they were here, according to Stevens. In the future Stevens said he hopes that he will be able to have direct issues to address when inviting visiting profes sors. “Here at UNCA we essentially have all the material collected using the Mossbauer technique,’’ said Stevens.

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